This invention relates to exercise apparatus, and more specifically, to such apparatus which may be arranged into multiple configurations, thus allowing a wide variety of exercises to be performed thereon.
Physical fitness, or lack of it, is a consideration to which an ever-increasing number of people are paying attention. A “work-out” in the gym is an activity engaged in by many, whether for the purposes of leisure and keeping-fit, or for serious training by sports-men and -women.
Most public or commercial gymnasiums contain a wide variety of equipment designed for anaerobic, or muscle-building exercises. These range from simple weights or “dumb-bells” to sophisticated heavy-duty equipment such as plate-loaded resistance machines, and so-called “multi-gyms”. Each piece of equipment generally has a schedule of exercises associated with it, designed to increase the strength of a particular target muscle or group of muscles.
A wide range of home gymnasium equipment is also available, much of it similar to that found in a commercial gymnasium. Many home gym systems offer a combination of a number of devices and associated exercise schedules in order to provide an extensive work-out in the home.
Whilst these systems appear adequate for their intended purpose, they do have their disadvantages. In the commercial gym, the use of each piece of equipment for only a limited range of exercises necessitates the employment of many different types of apparatus in order to achieve a full work-out for each part of the body which it is desired to exercise. This has the obvious drawback of increased expense in paying for many pieces of heavy-duty and often very expensive equipment. In addition, there is the consideration of the space taken up by such machinery, and during busy periods, the inconvenience of having to employ rotation schedules in order that each customer is able to use each piece of equipment.
As noted above, many home gym systems attempt to overcome these problems by providing a combination of several pieces of equipment in one. However, these kinds of apparatus tend to be extremely cumbersome, particularly where re-arrangement of the apparatus is necessary in order to move from one exercise schedule to another. Such operations may require the use of tools to dismantle and re-assemble the apparatus, which is not only awkward and inconvenient, but often unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming, and may give rise to safety concerns if the apparatus is not correctly re-assembled by the user.
The use of many known home fitness systems also involve unnecessarily large stresses being exerted on certain parts of the equipment. For example, inclined exercise platforms are often provided with a facility whereby the angle of the incline may be varied through a number of pre-determined angles within a range. This is often achieved by rotating the platform around one end thereof, and securing it at the desired angle of incline by means of a steel pin inserted through a hole in the supporting framework. During use of the equipment, the stresses exerted on the pin can become extremely large, particularly where the user is using weights in combination with their exercise schedule. This is a cause for concern, both for the safety of the user, and the lifetime of the equipment.
There is therefore a need for a simple, lightweight yet durable construction of exercise apparatus which will be capable of being used for a comprehensive series of exercise schedules, and yet be quickly, easily, and safely manipulated between the different configurations necessary for such exercise schedules. These objectives are now attained by means of the present invention. It is envisaged that exercise apparatus according to the present invention will be used both by individuals for home exercise and in exercise classes in gymnasiums.